If you’ve ever volunteered for any charity, football club, or school, you know that fundraising is an essential activity for these organisations. Selling raffles tickets, selling candies, sponsoring time-consuming events and other painfully tedious activities are the usual means of raising funds for these groups, but more recently, some have been trying to come up with better and more lucrative fundraising ideas. This takes me back to the title of this blog. You are probably wondering what in the world do pigs and fundraising ideas have in common? Two words – PIG RACES.
No, you aren’t losing your eyesight, it says pig races. Pig racing is a very unique and entertaining fundraising idea. Many places within the UK and the US have hosted race nights as charity and school fundraising events, and now these races have come to Australia! Everyone knows that Australians love to gamble, so some innovative people have put that love of placing bets to good use and have begun sponsoring race nights to raise funds for charities.
Pig racing as a fundraising idea
Hosting a Night at the Races is a popular and profitable way to fund-raise. It combines two very enjoyable social activities – racing and a night out with friends and family. Another great aspect of this fundraising is that you aren’t limited to just pigs (something the pigs are thankful for!). Other types of racing, such as the more traditional horse or dog races, have been used for as fundraisers. Now you’re probably wondering why on earth would anyone take school children to a racetrack, even if pigs are involved. Fortunately, there is no heading to the local racing venue.
A while back, someone ingenious decided it might be a good idea to film some races, and it was a crafty Irishman who knew that the local parish priest might frown upon hosting a horse racing night (since gambling is a sin), but he figured that Father O’Brien might not be averse to pigs, so he filmed some pigs racing and proposed that the church hold a race night using his racing pigs. This is what started the fundraising revolution known as the pig race night.
Substantial funds raised with minimal effort
Now it is very likely that not all of that story is true, but what is the truth is that race nights can help your school, club or charity raise a substantial amount of money with little effort. These fun-filled fundraisers are very easy to run and are held where you want them and when you want them. Most importantly, they are only one night events that do not involve ordering and delivering any goods or door to door sales that are a necessary evil of other fundraisers. This is one fundraising idea that many of your volunteers, parents, or club members will support since the labour involved and cost output are minimal.
Just imagine all the excitement as participants clap, shout and cheer for their favourites from the starting line to the finish line. One and all will be jumping out of their seats as your race night turns your fundraising efforts into a rousing success.
Find out more
Interested yet? To learn more about this novel idea for your next charity or school fundraising event, contact Race Night Australia. They are fundraising experts who will answer all your questions and help you to run a successful event. They offer a variety of race night fundraising packages for any size group and occasion. Their expert event managers will support you through every step. You can even check how much you can make at a horse racing fundraiser with their easy-to-use calculator. Download an info pack for more information on this unique and profitable fundraising event idea!